I'm 18 & the heaviest person in my family of 4..

whilst i think it's good to have a goal in mind, i think it's dangerous to categorically say 'i will lose x amount of weight in x amount of time'. instead, i think it might be healthier to focus on getting as physically fit as possible and educating yourself about nutrition etc and then weight loss will happen but you'll also know how to keep it off. but that's just my opinion, either way: welcome to the site, and i wish you all the very best with your weight loss journey! you can, and will do it!!

be careful...That's a lot of weight in a short period.

Try Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, it's hard but worth it

Good Luck!

First of all, you just have to USE that treadmill...even when you don't want to. Motivation is fleeting, but the need to exercise is always present. I was the same way, but I just made the commitment to do it, and I am....even when I don't want to get up at 5:30am and go to the gym, I do.

Second, I think your 74 pound goal in 4 months is unrealistic...not impossible, but it will be hard to achieve. I say set your goals for 1 lb per week and be happy if you lose more. Its really hard to stay motivated if you consistently don't meet your goals, but if you set goals you can achieve, its much easier to keep moving. Plus, rapid weight loss doesn't tend to stay off...slow and steady is the way to go.

I want to lose another 33 lbs or so. I have lost 16 so far in the last not quite two months.

Good luck to you!

74 pounds in 4 mths is not a healthy goal. If I do the math correctly, that's almost 5lbs a week. While you may see a large weight loss initially that will peter off eventually. MFP recommends between .5 and 2lbs a week as a healthy weight loss. You also run the risk of discouraging yourself when you fail to met such a high goal and sabotaging your weight loss efforts.

My advice is to start small. Decided on a weekly weight loss goal. Focus on adapting your eating habits so that you are eating good, healthy foods, including fresh fruit/veg and water. Make it your aim to get some form of exercise in at least 3x's a week. Remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hi Kaylen, Welcome!

There's a bunch of reasons to lose weight, but it isn't always easy to find support to do it. I started weighing 208.3 and after a couple rough months I'm now 199.7 (not a lot for that long time uh?). I'm still trying to find a routine that works for me, but however difficult and slow this is going I know I want to get fit and be as healthy as I can be. So do your best but don't set a goal so high it would make you feel bad if you don't get it fast enough, and even if you find yourself going slowly, well, nobody gains a lot of weight in a couple of months, right? The important thing to keep in mind is that you CAN do it and you WILL do it if you really set your mind to it!

Try to incorporate more exercise in your daily life, but if you start to hard you will probably find it difficult and won't want to do it, start slowly and build up from there at least that's what I'm trying to do!

Hope this helps you a bit, my best wishes for you, hope you achieve your goals!

Hi Kaylen. I would be very cautious about getting started for the first time. You will get all sorts of advice but not everything that works for others will work for you. Exercise is great for getting in shape but what you eat is the main problem. Congrats for taking the first step in joining MFP! Just remember losing weight is like a giant math problem. To lose weight you need to consume less calories then you burn in a day. 3,000 is approximately one pound so if you want to lose 1 pound a week you need to be burning around 3,000 more calories then you consume. Now water weight, sodium intake and carbs and sugars take a huge effect also. The first step is knowing your BMR which you can find on this website. That is how many calories your body will burn if you did nothing but sit in bed all day. Your calories allotted by MFP is based on those numbers. If you want to lose more then they recommend you need to either consume less calories OR exercise more to burn extra. There is so much to worry about though because you don't eat enough and you will go into starvation mode and your body will store everything and try to hold onto the fat. If you eat too much you will see no results. The happy medium is the foods you eat. If you limit your sugars, that will help. Try drinking most or ONLY water. Try to eat more protein like fish or chicken because you can eat more of it for less calories which will fill you up faster and make you feel like you aren't getting robbed. You can still eat your favorite like rice and pasta, but only in small quantities and only if it is a lifetyle change. If you are trying to get drastic results FAST, then I would say try to eat mainly protein with healthy carbs like broccoli in the beginning and pass on the rice and pasta if you can help it. Yogurt has good sugars but try greek yogurt or the lite yogurt. Get rid of extra carbs and sugars from beverages like powerade, juice and espcially soda. Vitamin C is a good supplement to take and can help battle belly bulge. Exercise but don't waste time on sit ups just yet. The best work outs to get rid of fat are from cardio and workouts that get your whole body moving at the same time. Dance is a good one, walking, step aerobics, WATER AEROBICS, and there are some fun ones on the yoga ball that are low impact but still make you work for it. If you are just starting, I recommend doing some cardio like you are...walking or biking....then try some water aerobics to get started. Change up your routine though. Don't do the same thing all the time, If you are finding it getting easier, then you need to change your routine or add an incline..etc... your body will get used to what you do and it will start requiring less effort and that means you need to challenge yourself more.

I absolutley HATE running. I have a back and knee injury that required surgery. My favorite things to do are exercise bike in front of the tv, or water aerobics but I also do body combat which is like tae bo, and dance with the wii. As long as you get your heart rate up for 30 minutes a day continually, and eat a little better, you are on the road to getting healthy. Try to do things you love and make it fun or interesting so its not a chore to you. The weight loss is hard because you have to be strict in the beginning, but just keep telling yourself......You are NOT giving up pizza or pasta for life....only for right now.....when you get to your goal, you can eat more calories to maintain your new weight. Right now you are trying to lose so you have to give it your all. Just keep thinking once you hit your goal, you can find a new normalcy where you can eat your favorite foods but know a healthy portion and still feel good about yourself afterwards!

Do some research. Talk to girls that have similar tastes to yours in food and get some good recipies and ideas. I am picky so it's hard for me to cook healthy sometimes. Most importantly, have a support system. People you can cry to when you are frustrated, people who support you and can eat healthy with you instead of going to taco bell or mcdonalds, and people who will push you even when you don't want to go.

Good Luck with your weight loss! If you ever feel hopeless and need a pep talk, feel free to add me!

Welcome to MFP. I agree with what just about everyone said, focus on this as a full lifestyle change, not focusing on the numbers as much. Set some small initial goals just to get you going. If you really change your eating habits, you will probably see some great losses in the first couple of weeks. After that I would try and stick with the 1 to 2 pounds per week loss. Good luck!

Here's what I can say: "Our mental attitude is the most important part of staying fit."
I guess its self explanatory but just to reiterate, you simply need to start training your mind!
You can own an entire gym, get everyone to train and motivate you but if you will not take actions and discipline yourself towards your diet and lifestyle, still remain obese or overweight. Bear in mind that: "Our physique and total appearance are consequences of our mentality and lifestyle!" Also, "KNOWING is not enough, we must APPLY. WILLING is not enough, we must DO!" - Bruce Lee.

You are still young and its definitely not too late to change your lifestyle for the better.